


Sparring Partners

by Elendiliel



Series: Lightning Strikes [13]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Enemies (sort of) to Friends, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Planet Yavin 4 (Star Wars), Pre-Battle of Yavin (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29137344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elendiliel/pseuds/Elendiliel
Summary: Things are looking up for Helli Abbasa and her family, what with reunions with old friends, new friends to get to know, and the possibility that their years of hiding might be nearly over. One such new friend, though, is a little... different from the others, and when the opportunity arises for a private conversation they both need, neither intends to waste it.
Series: Lightning Strikes [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087898
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Sparring Partners

**Author's Note:**

> This leads on almost directly from "Out of the Shadows", but I think it can stand alone. Both fics are set in 1 BBY, early in Season 4 of _Rebels_.
> 
> There are two conflicting sources for Kallus' birthdate; I've gone for the one that makes the point I want clearer.

_Skies above, I’ve missed this…_

Helli knew the odds were against her. She was outnumbered two to one, and her opponents were so clearly used to fighting as a pair. They were also seven and twenty-one standard years younger than her, something that was starting to matter more as her fifth decade approached. But she was more than holding her own. Age had less importance for a Pict than for other humanoids; she’d still be as strong and flexible as a teenager well into her fifties, if she followed the usual pattern, and lived that long. And while, until the previous day, she hadn’t dared use her sabre openly since the fall of the Republic, it hadn’t exactly been gathering dust.

She had to take them down at the same time, or one would hold her off until the other recovered. That had happened once or twice already during that duel. Enough times for her to notice the moment of hesitation before the one left standing pressed the attack. She could use that, if she was quick.

Ezra was a slightly easier target. He was still a padawan, and still tended to use his lightsabre first and everything else second. As she parried an incoming strike from Kanan, she used the follow-through to sweep the other blade of her sabre towards Ezra’s head. He was too busy deflecting that to stop her kicking his legs out from under him. His sabre flew out of his hand as he hit the floor. Kanan paused a fraction of a second too long, and only just sensed the side of her hand moving in for a paralysing blow to his neck. He blocked exactly as she had taught him all those years ago, putting him in precisely the right place for her sabre to threaten the lives of both master and apprentice at once. “I win.”

“You’re also dead.” Helli realised then that Ezra had summoned his lightsabre while she’d been dealing with Kanan, and its tip was millimetres from her stomach. If this had been a real fight, with their sabres at full power, he could do some serious damage that way if she didn’t react in time. He was resourceful, she had to admit.

“I see your point.” Helli couldn’t resist the pun as she raised her sabre in an end-of-sparring salute, Kanan doing the same, then helped Ezra to his feet. “You’ve obviously learned the difference between sparring and real fighting.” Namely, in real fighting there’s only one rule. Survive.

“If you three have quite finished, Senator Mothma wants to see Jarrus and Bridger, as soon as possible.” The voice that cut through the erstwhile combatants’ cheerful mood sounded, at first, like the last one anyone would expect on a rebel base. While Alexsandr Kallus had left the Imperial Security Bureau behind, he retained the Core Worlds accent, and the military attitude. Kanan and Ezra hurried to obey, leaving Kallus and Helli alone in the training area outside one of the temple buildings around which the Alliance’s headquarters had been built.

“What _did_ you teach Jarrus?”, Kallus asked, more to break the awkward silence than for any other reason.

“Unarmed combat. My master thought teaching younglings the skills I learned before I became a Jedi would keep me out of trouble, over-use of the library and his hair – so to speak. Kanan was one of my best pupils.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. He and his crew gave us a lot of trouble, even before we knew he was a Jedi.” Another awkward pause. “Who was your master?”

“Master Yord Qass. First Gungan Jedi for decades. With me being the first Pict in the Order for a similarly long time, we made a fairly decent pair.”

“That shouldn’t make sense, but in a way, it does. I’ve heard stories about your people. If you’re a representative sample, they’re more true than I thought.” Alba wasn’t quite up there with Mandalore yet, but it did have something of a reputation.

“I’m not sure I’m a good representative any more. Too much Jedi training, and too much sparring with my clone brothers. It’s an… interesting combination.”

“So I saw. I suppose you had to adapt to survive.” Referring to the Empire and its foundation, even indirectly, hurt Kallus still, but it was only apparent to a Jedi’s senses.

“Like everyone, and everything. There are only three constants in the universe: the laws of physics, the Force, and change.”

“True.” The silence between them now was less awkward and a little more companionable. Kallus himself had seemingly changed (unless his decent side had merely come out of hiding) quite a lot in a short time, and was still changing. For the better, everyone hoped. But the silence had to end at some point, and he broke it after a while. “Where are your apprentices? And the rest of your squadron?”

“Fives and Spark are chatting to Rex, and probably will be for quite some time. They’ve got a lot to catch up on. The others are probably at the meeting. It’s their intel, after all, not mine. I gave up trying to keep tabs on all six of them at once years ago. Never thought I’d have even one apprentice, let alone half a dozen.”

“It does sound like a lot of work.” Kallus shook his head slightly, trying to dislodge some stray thought. Unsuccessfully, it seemed. “It’s strange, having so much freedom. Before, there was always a schedule, or so much work I had little in the way of spare time. Now, I don’t know what to do with myself when the Alliance doesn’t need my input.” _Alliance_ , not _rebels_ , Helli noted. Definitely changing for the better.

“Well, I don’t have anything to do either, and I could do with a new opponent, if you’re up for some sparring. Or we could find something to eat or drink. I haven’t really had the chance to look around here yet, or have breakfast this morning, come to that. What would you prefer?”

He gave the question due consideration, before replying with a statement rather than a suggestion. “Sparring, then food.”

“Fine by me.” Helli was still in training gear; she returned to the sparring ring and waited while Kallus removed his jacket, carefully folding it and placing it to one side, and joined her. She’d heard he was pretty good at hand-to-hand combat, a report she quickly confirmed. Still a very ISB style, with elements of clone trooper training and some of the modifications that had been made to it for stormtroopers, but with a precision and elegance that was all his own. He gave her a good run for her money, so to speak, and it was some minutes before she found both a strike that could floor him and a hold that could keep him down. He was a slippery customer and no mistake.

“Again?” She agreed, and they continued for another two bouts, until both were gasping for breath. She won all three, but the third was a near thing. Only a well-placed forearm as he sent her to the ground and an equally well-placed shin to bring him down to her level made the difference between victory and defeat. To Helli, the fight was never over until she’d won. In life as in sparring.

Once both former opponents were vaguely (Helli) or entirely (Kallus) presentable once more, they made their way to the base’s mess hall for a late breakfast. Late enough that they found themselves alone as they finished their meals and caf. The latter, and the emotional connection that an intense sparring match sometimes produced, finally weakened Kallus’ defences to the point where he could ask a question that had clearly been weighing on his mind for some time.

“Have I seen you somewhere before? Before yesterday, I mean.”

Helli used the time required to finish her mouthful of food to scan through the copy of Kallus’ ISB file she had in her head (courtesy of Torrent and an unnaturally good factual memory). “Maybe on Onderon. Although that was years ago, and I looked a lot different then.”

“That must be it. I’ll never forget that mission.” He didn’t meet her eyes, but she could imagine the pain and old grief in his. She remembered it, too. His unit had been slaughtered by a mercenary working for her colleague at the time, Saw Gerrera. He’d been the only survivor.

“I don’t think I will, either. Partly because that was the first flaming row Saw and I had. First of many.” The corners of her mouth twitched up in a dark-humour smile. “We’d been at odds almost from the beginning. He thought I was a starry-eyed idealist; I still think he’s unnecessarily brutal. But when I found out what one of his men had done…” She shook her head, momentarily unable to continue. “That was just _wrong_. Victory at the cost of honour is not victory.”

“I assume Gerrera feels otherwise. I understand he’s still very active – and hasn’t changed much.”

“Some fires never go out. Saw’s sister, his only family, died for their people’s freedom. He kept fighting for the same cause until even he realised it was hopeless as things stood, then switched focus to the wider galaxy. But in his heart, it’ll always be Onderon and Steela’s legacy he wants to save.”

“You say you were angry with him, but you don’t sound bitter.” Kallus was remarkably perceptive. Always a good trait for an ISB operative – and a double agent. _Like Torrent._

“I understand him too well. The Emperor took almost everything from me. _Thousands_ of my Jedi brothers and sisters, including most of my friends, my master, and the man who took over my master’s role after he died. _Millions_ of clones, brothers of my brothers. One of my team, on our first ever mission. Very nearly Fives and Echo. My home. Any sort of security. One day I might forgive him, but I’ll never forget. Without my training and my brothers, I might have ended up like Saw.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. One Gerrera is bad enough.” Her dark-humour smile returned, mirroring his. “If you don’t mind my asking – what happened to your master?”

“He was killed in action shortly after the first battle of Geonosis.” Enough time had passed for Helli’s voice to remain level as she talked about her second father. “Some petty skirmish out in the Outer Rim. I had a feeling he was going to need help, but he refused to take me along. Gave me a study challenge he knew I couldn’t resist, and left without saying goodbye. He never came back.” She shook her head again. She had let go of her teacher over twenty years before, but the memories were still sharp in more ways than one. “After I was told what had happened, my best friend found me in floods of tears, trying to hide. Challenged me to a sparring match.” Her smile had genuine happiness in it now, despite said best friend’s untimely death not long after the events she was recalling.

“I presume you won?”

“He beat me hollow, actually. First and last time. As well as being sad, I was just so _angry_ at everything. At the Separatists, at the warmongers in the Republic, at my master for not letting me go with him, at the universe for not being the way I wanted it. At myself, too, for not following my instincts. It made a right mess of my combat technique.” That lesson had served her well when she had faced Nahdar’s killer in single combat a year or two later.

“I will never understand you Jedi.” It was Kallus’ turn to shake his head. “You are supposed not to form attachments, yet your friendships are some of the deepest I have ever encountered.”

“It’s a paradox. But there is a difference between affection and attachment. One is healthy and natural, when not taken to extremes; the other can damage both parties so easily. Learning the difference is a lifetime’s work.”

“So it would seem. You knew what I used to be straight away, but you appear to trust me all the same.”

“You broke away from the Empire as soon as you saw what it really was. And you were brave enough to spy for the Alliance right under Grand Admiral Thrawn’s nose. That must have taken some doing.” A thought struck her. “How old were you when the Empire was founded?”

“Sixteen. Why?”

“I thought as much. So you saw the worst of the Republic and the best of the Empire at an impressionable age. I’m not surprised you believed so strongly in the Empire. After the Clone Wars, any sort of stability must have been a blessing. Whereas I grew up learning to defend the Republic’s idea of peace, and only became a soldier when I’d just finished my apprenticeship. I saw the best of the Republic, such as it was by then, and the worst of the Empire. It was the same on Onderon. You arrived in the middle of a rebellion; I arrived the day the planet was annexed. People were still putting their lives back together after the civil war, let alone the siege, and then the stormtroopers moved in. Of course some of Onderon’s people fought back, and of course it escalated. I did what I could to solve problems without violence, but – have you ever _met_ Saw?”

“No, I haven’t. And I don’t plan to do so.”

“Trying to change that man’s mind is like trying to pull a planet out of its orbit. It can be done, but not without huge effort and equal repercussions.”

“What happened, later on? I rather lost sight of the wretched place.” Helli let the insult slide. It was clearly a remnant of Kallus’ Imperial persona, the mask he’d used to shield himself from the brutality of ISB life.

“We struggled on for a while, but we lost our momentum after King Dendup died. What the Separatists and the Empire failed to achieve, a heart attack managed. I don’t think he even knew what was happening, which was a blessing. But with no obvious successor and our man in the Senate having divided loyalties, even Saw could tell that we were on a hiding to nothing, and when _he_ gives up on a cause it’s _really_ lost. Onderon wasn’t Onderon any more by that point. Just a shadow of Palpatine’s version of Coruscant. We’d done all we could there, and it was past time to move on and look at the bigger picture. Free Onderon by freeing the galaxy. I haven’t seen Saw since. I hear from him, now and again, and hear _of_ him rather more often. He tends to leave a very obvious signature.”

“So do you and your people. Was Saleucami one of yours?”

“It most certainly was.” The memory brought Helli’s silly grin back to her face for the first time in the conversation. A sleeping draught in the food of an Imperial garrison, a wide-range electromagnetic field that had the same effect on droids, and some well-placed computer viruses and mechanical alterations had set the Empire’s plans for expansion in that area back by months. “We’ve had ties to the planet since just after the Purge. The Lawquane family have long been friends to our old legion, and to the Jedi.” Shaeeah Lawquane had been their woman on the inside for that job. She might not be Cut’s blood-daughter, but an outsider would have a hard time believing it.

Companionable silence reigned for a while, until Kallus said, “I have to say, I’m impressed you’ve never compromised your ideals. There can’t be many people in this war who can say the same.”

“Oh, when they’ve been drilled into you from early childhood it’s not that hard. I’m more impressed that you saw the flaw in the Empire’s way of doing things, and had the strength to break away from it.”

“I think Garazeb Orrelios deserves a large share of the credit for that – not that he knew what he was doing.” A wry smile. “Don’t think I’ve had a complete change of heart. I know some of the things I’ve done were very wrong by your standards, but I don’t regret them. At least, not all. I believed at the time that I was doing the right thing.”

“Well, that’s a step in the right direction.” Helli reached out and put a hand over Kallus’. “I think you might regret them one day, and if you do it’ll hurt. I can’t spare you that, but if you ever need to talk to someone, in confidence, I’m only ever a transmission away at most.”

“Thank you.” His smile now was warm and open; she matched it. “I’m not sure anyone’s said anything like that to me for a long time.”

“Well, what else are friends for?” She added a touch of teasing to her expression and tone. “And I’m not going to let anything happen to such a good sparring partner.”


End file.
